Exploring the Contributions of Arts and Culture to Peace
Peacebuilding and the Arts is a program of the Samuels Center for Community Partnerships and Civic Transformation (COMPACT) at Brandeis University.
The program in Peacebuilding and the Arts is directed by Dr. Cynthia Cohen, continuing work previously undertaken within the framework of 'Creative Approaches to Coexistence and Reconciliation.' Our program focuses on the distinctive contributions of culture and the arts to the transformation of conflict. We collaborate with several departments and programs at Brandeis, including MusicUnitesUS, Peace, Conflict and Coexistence Studies (PAX), the Division of Creative Arts, and Brandeis Arts Engagement.
We collaborate with artists who work in divided communities, supporting them to reflect on, document, and strengthen their practice. The lessons from these collaborations are accessible through publications, trainings, courses, and this virtual resource center. Read more about why we need creative approaches to peacebuilding.
Current Projects
IMPACT is designing infrastructure for the field, a platform for arts, culture and conflict transformation supported in large part by Porticus Community Arts Lab. The planning phase in 2017-19 was supported by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The "Acting Together" Project is undertaken in partnership with Theatre Without Borders and ReCAST, Inc.
Documentation of the work of Jane Wilburn Sapp — a powerful and highly regarded performer, songwriter, recording artist and educator who engages with disenfranchised urban and rural communities in the United States and around the world.
Featured News
Inaugurating a new dialogue is an exciting and substantial process, especially when it takes place between entities with aligned ethical and organizational goals: to bring together practitioners from around the world, to support their artistic processes and to enable them to exchange views and opinions, creating an environment of growth and nurturing. Such is the discussion that has started between IMPACT and The Festival Academy, with the participation of Dijana Milošević and Ellada Evangelou (IMPACT) in the Academy's Atelier entitled, — the arts, the artist and the audience.
- Acting Together documentary: "Acting Together on the World Stage" — The 55-minute ATWS documentary highlights stories of nine exemplary peacebuilding performance practitioners and their reflections on key questions and dilemmas from the field.
- Acting Together anthology: "Acting Together: Performance and the Creative Transformation of Conflict" is a two-volume work describing peacebuilding performances in regions beset by violence and internal conflicts. Volume II focuses on the transformative power of performance in regions fractured by "subtler" forms of structural violence and social exclusion.